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Surguja district
Surguja District (सरगुजा) is a district in the northern part of the state of Chattisgarh in India. The district headquarter is Ambikapur. The district borders on the states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, and overlaps the southeastern part of the Vindhyachal-Baghelkhand region of peninsular India. History According to legend, Lord Rama had visited Surguja during his 14 years of exile in to the forests. There are many places in connection to epic of Ramayana, which are named after Lord Rama, Laxmana and Goddess Sita such as Ramgarh, Sita-Bhengra and Laxmangarh. Prior to the arrival of the Mauryas, the area was ruled by the Nandas. In the third century BC the region was divided into tiny kingdoms. Later, a Rajput king belonging to the Rakshal clan, attacked from what is now Jharkhand, and took control of the area. In 1820, Amar Singh was crowned as Maharaja. During the British period, Surguja was a princely state. The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Geography It lies between 23°37'25" to 24°6'17" north latitude and 81°34'40" to 84°4'40" east longitude. long east to west and broad north to south, this land has as area of about . The high-lands of Surguja district have peculiar 'pat formations' – highlands with small tablelands. The Mainpat , the Jarang pat, the Jonka pat, the Jamira pat and the Lahsunpat are the major pats of the district. The average height of area is above . Some of peaks are – Mailan , Jam , Parta Gharsa , Kanda Dara , Chutai , and Karo . There are a number of other peaks. North–west Surguja is hilly in nature, and moving westwards, three distinct steps may be marked out: the first from Shrinagar on the east to the low-lands of Patna and Khargawan, the second from thence to the uplands around Sonhat and the third beyond Sonhat to above a height of . Central Surguja is a low basin through which the Rihand and it's tributaries flow. There are three river basins in Suguja district – those of the Hasdeo River, the Rihand River and the Kanhar River. In winters temperature dips to below and in summers it rises above . Demographics According to the 2011 census has a population of 2,361,329 , roughly equal to the nation of Latvia or the US state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 192nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 19.74 %. Surguja has a sex ratio of 976 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 61.16 %. Major population comprises tribal population. Among the primitive tribes are Pando and Korwa, who still live in forest. The Pando tribe believes themselves as the member of "Pandav" clan of epic Mahabharata. The Korwa tribe believes themselves to be member of "Kauravs" of Mahabharata. Languages Languages spoken include Bharia, a Dravidian vernacular spoken by at least 200 000 members of the Bharia tribe and written in the Devanagari script. Culture The first Asian film to win a Green Oscar, The Last Migration, was filmed in Surguja by the wild life film maker Mike Pandey. Sonabai is a clay sculptor famous for her tribal and folk artform. References Dr.Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Riyaste/Princely stastes aur Jamindariyaa (Vaibhav Prakashan, Raipur1, ISBN 81-89244-96-5) Dr.Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Janjaatiyaa/Tribes aur Jatiyaa/Castes (Mansi publication, Delhi6, ISBN 978-81-89559-32-8) External links Category:Districts of Chhattisgarh